Comme des Garcons Holygrapie, Holygrace: new fragrances

Two new fragrances are launching from the uber-urban,niche sophisticate Comme des Garçons brand with retro packaging that will have you doubting whether they come from Rei Kawakubo's braindchild or from a classic Victorian vignette!
Designer and artist Jun Takahashi has collaborated with perfume brand Comme des Garçons to release two new perfumes named after his own fashion label Undercover and inspired by his enigmatic universe, in particular his fantastic plush animals, the Graces. The fragrances are called Undercover Holygrace and Undercover Holygrapie. The duo symbolizes the relationship of mother Grace and child Grapie. Or so they say...

Holygrapie reflects the smell of babies, kindness and sensuality.
Top Note: ginger purple, tangerine, rhubarb, black pepper Heart notes: iris, frankincense, ylang-ylang Base notes: Australian sandalwood, cedar wood, patchouli, benzoin, vetiver

Holygrace, a perfume of elegance, soap freshness and poison, featuring notes of bergamot, ginger and pepper.Top : Bergamot, purple ginger, pink pepper, cardamom.Heart : Jasmine, incense, broom, red pimentoBase : Vanilla, amber, vetyver, styrax.

Both fragrances retail for 78 euros for 50ml of Eau de Toilette.

Top 13 Worst fragrances?

Uusally blogs post their Top 10 or so Best Perfumes etc etc. in a popularity stake that is easy for readers to browse through and can identify with; makes for light, pop reading. But what about a negative list? Those are less promoted by far, although far more illuminating on many levels. How does such a selection gain credence and isn't dismissed as snark, vitriol or plain ignorance? It's all very well for someone to say that they absolutely think something is stellar (no one gets offended and often the reader believes the author knows something they don't) but when someone bashes someone else's favorite scent, feelings can get quite hurt it seems!

I'm not going to attempt a Top Worst Fragrances List myself due to that very reason, but coming across one had all the right bells ringing and I thought I'd bring it for our readers for discussion: There's an article at MSN named Pe-ew! based on ratings of readers of TotalBeauty.com , comments of whom the article reiterates. The selection is rather tame (someone should send the readers some Secretions Magnifiques as a control specimen!) and the comments oscillate most often between the plain tired "old lady" (for lack of a better vocabulary) and the "heavy", while surprisingly the same things that are considered heavy to one are non-perceptible to another (or considered having no lasting power either). Makes one wonder just how our everyday choice of fragrance is really greeted by other people, doesn't it? What emerges from the poll is that under no circumstances can you:

1)Smell like a grandma (Why the hell not, if you want to? Is it a dirty thing?)

2)Smell cheap (Ditto)

3)Have something cost more than its perceived value in olfactory terms. (Blurry, but the only logical complaint and I'm afraid lots of brands and products are falling into this pit)

List of Top 13 Worst Fragrance from Total Beauty.com (in reverse order):

13. Aromatics elixir by Clinique : Predictably assumed "old lady in a bottle" and one reader likens it to "cats, mothballs and fruitcakes". Bernand Chant's bones are creaking, but no need. This is one of the MOST complimented fragrances on strangers, while it can be a bit too much on oneself sometimes. I had praised it profusely years ago and I still stand behind my credo. Personally I use the body lotion or the Sheer version; makes for less intense wearing.
12. YSL Parisienne: One reader notes the newest Yves Saint Laurent is a combination of her "grandmother and trees" (!), others find it "cheap" (can't argue) and "forgettable" and many consider it "not youthful at all". We can assume the sexy-teasy advertising missed their aim...
11. Lush Go Green: In the words of one reader "like a Christmas tree air freshener." That ties in with that green I guess!
10. M by Mariah Carey (Elizabeth Arden): Featuring a burnt marshmallow scent that is too sweet to the point of aversion it seemed condemned from the start. Proof people aren't swayed by a pretty bottle.
9. Lancome Magnifique: I had voiced my disagreement with the presentation and press about this one (basically a little misleading) but surely not the ghastly thing presented on that poll. "Cheap, incredibly strong and heavy, quickly fading": I can't say I agree with any of this. I can see how it can be polarising as a smell though; it's not among those I'd choose myself.
8. Aveda Pure Fume Essence: Haven't personally tried this one, but "musky and earthy" don't rate too well with today's audiences, at least on Beauty.com it seems. The Avedas I have tried, I wasn't impressed with.
7. Kenzo Flower : Isn't this a best-seller in the 30s-40s age bracket? The proof that powdery scents (alongside Cashmere Mist and Hypnotic Poison) are not only designated perfume solace for the elderly? I laughed with one reader insisting that she "shouldn't be hitting the bottom notes of a perfume within an hour". Really? Is this a new rule? Has she smelled any orientals? First time I hear about this concept!
6. Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds: A reader who worked at Macy's says the salespeople called it "the old lady scent." "If you needed a gift for a much older woman, we sold you this!" All right I'm perfectly willing to accept this. Yet older women should be indulged too and what is Liz Taylor if not an older woman nowadays? (embarking on her 9th marriage no less!)

5. Harajuku Lovers Lil Angel : Possibly the least disliked in the Karajuku Lovers range gets bashed ("cloying, powdery, sweet, fading"). Typical.
4. Avon Timeless Cologne Spray: I can't really criticize the tried-and-tested poisoned arrows of "heavy," "musky" and "so very old" because I was jumping up and down like a demented puppy seeing again the little roll-on bottle I was handed down as an elementary school kid! I recall really liking the -problematic to classify- scent, even then. Goes to show you... 3. Tocca Stella: Again, isn't this really popular? One reader mentions it's reminiscent of gardenia or lilac like this is a criticism. I'm rather stumped.
2. Gucci by Gucci: Obviously tastes differ, but Gucci is selling quite well, so it probably pleases a lot of people. But reading through the comments, I get the sense that the major complaint is not lasting long enough or being perceivable for the duration it's expected.

1. Gifts of the Sea Spray by Caswell Massey : I have never smelled this, but now I'm psyched to hunt it down and get a sample. The complaint seems for it to be "dull". Somehow I think that could be said about half the current market...Anyway...

So: What do you think about the above? And which are your Top Worst Perfumes?

pic via enet.gr

Re-organising

It has been brought to my attention that navigating into the overflowing archives of Perfume Shrine has started to become difficult. Difficult in the sense that, even though there is a Individualised Google Search function on the right hand column (and it intends to stay put), if one merely wanted to search for specific themes, one couldn't get to them without having to wade lots of posts which marginally reference the search word used. One of the downsides of keeping a very active site for a number of years...The Quick Index on the right only highlights some of the subjects touched, although it has proven popular.

Anyway, for your convenience I will embark on a re-organising of the content very soon (as soon as my hectic schedule allows), and in the meantime I have made all the Labels/Tags (and they are plenty) in a single list on the right-hand column of the blog's front page (under the What's your Scent Profile quizz pic) for your ease. I'm going to further fine-tune them in the following days too.

So, for instance if you click on ART, you get a glimpse of essays and discussion on the art of perfumery, actual artwork in reference to perfume advertising, but also illustrations of famous artist Rene Gruau for Dior and Roudnitska's polemic on gaining recognision for perfumers as artists. If you want to find reviews and news about DISCONTINUED fragrances, you can do so just clicking the link. That way you can also search by perfume (dominant) note, by fragrance family or by perfumer. Kinda neat, huh?

As always I welcome your suggestions on how to make the site even more useful and handy for you, whether here or by email on perfumeshrine@yahoo.com
Thanks!

Photo from the film Les Enfants du Paradis.

The winners of the draws....

....are Laurinha for the Guerlain exclusive and Samy for the Roxana chocolate solid minis.
Mail me with your information using the contact email on the right so have these shipped to you soon. Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic participation and till the next one!

Perfumed Pilgrimage: Grasse-hoppers part1

Discovering the secret charms of the Riviera, never more attractive than during the fall of the last cool days into rampant warm spring, is akin to a pilgrimage to some scented god shrine. The Parisian sidewalks might well be heaving under the weight of fragrant offerings by posh and less posh boutiques, but nothing beats the sheer thrill of nature red in tooth and claw. Trailing the small towns and villages that spot the map of the Côte d'Azur and beyond in the throes of spring is an experience that everyone interested in fragrance and beauty should indulge in.

The medieval houses amidst the flowering vines reflect the shades of the sunset ~ochre, vermillon and purple~ and gracefully contrast with the deep azure of the Mediterranean sea which brings on its own special aromatic blend of iodine, salty spray and maritime pines to the places that are wetted by its waters.
Even though it's preferable to veer off the beaten track, especially where hordes of tourists litter the paysage with their visually jarring presence, one can't escape following a time-honoured path, that of the Route de Mimosa (known as The Mimosa Road), an inter-village mimosa-celebrating trail of 130km/80miles of drive-and-stop-along-the-sights, crossing 8 famous stopover cities, starting from fittingly named Bormes-les-Mimosas through Le Rayol-Canadel, Sainte Maxime, Saint Raphaël, Mandelieu la Napoule, Tanneron, Pégomas and Grasse, with a side-tour of Cannes. Until the first days of April, literally millions of downy flowers fragrance the hills and valleys of this region, rendering it a golden feast for both eyes and nose; the sugar-spun scent of mimosa (an acacia species), persistent and entracing, mixed with the tannic aroma of cork oaks and dry Provençal herbs. It's hard to resist thinking how magnificent a ready-made perfume composed of exactly those aromata would be!

The blooming town of Bormes-les-Mimosas at the arms of the Maures mountains, is slumbering and small, as befitting something out of a Flaubert story of provincial doctors and their bored housewives searching for that transporting romance to no avail.

Missing as we did the festivities of January and February (according to our tour leaflet, available at every port of call), the main attraction was the Pépinières Cavatore, a surprisingly quaint nursery bursting under the variety of mimosa plants grown: Over a hundred varieties make for an embarassement of riches, whetting our appetite for more. The answer seems to be Les Jardins du Domaine du Rayol, situated in Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer, offering a unique vista from the ravined mountain terrain down to the Var coastline, connecting the gardens with the beach via the monumental Pateck staircase following the Art Nouveau style of decoration of the 1920s, leading up to Le Rocher du Drapeau (Flag Rock). Unfortunately, today only the central part of the stairs remains intact. Local lore wants the steps to be the connector between Heaven and Hell and if the swarms of tourists are anything to go by it can certainly ring true to my ears! But, slightly detached as I am most of the time, I still managed to rub the leaves of the vine garlanding the pergola between finger and thumb, to leave a fragrant imprint of this magnificent spot in my mind.
But the garden delights never end: Sainte Maxime boasts its own Jardin des Myrtes, with a lovely three-star hotel tucked in that little pocket of land (Parc des Myrtes, 83120 Ste-Maxime, France). In Greek mythology myrtle is sacred. Pausanias explains that one of the Graces in the sanctuary at Elis holds a myrtle branch because “the rose and the myrtle are sacred to Aphrodite and connected with the story of Adonis (Aphrodite's lover), while the Graces are of all deities the nearest related to Aphrodite.” At the Roman festivity of Veneralia, women bathed wearing crowns woven of myrtle branches, the plant also participating in wedding rituals. Throughout the Mediterranean, myrtle symbolises love and immortality. A local tavern (with an owner of Corsican extraction) after a hearty meal of coq au vin and snails in onion and tomato sauce treated us to mirto rosso fino, a digestive liqueur made of myrtle, its bittersweet taste redolent of the aromatic heart of this ever-present plant.
Loquat trees, present in several yards, are also burdening under the weight of the fruits, already gleaming even under the slightly overcast skies. And of course the sweet smell of lilac coinciding with Easter, evoking its Greek name: Paschalia (pa-scha-leeA).

The very idea of medieval gardens was pleasuring all five senses, like the Persian paradeisos a cloistered alcove of erthy delights. [Roman de la Rose de Guillaume de Lorris (13th century) and le Dit du vergier by Guillaume de Machaut (15th century)] These gardens often included a viridarium (the Roman pleasure garden), a pomarium (orchard) and a herbarium; the latter taking the form of a jardin de plantes médicinales (medicinal plants garden) or more affectionately called le jardin secret (hortus conclusus), a secret garden. The mostly Arab-derived concept came through Toledo and Seville, Spain and on to Montpellier, France. Italian style gardens's elements ("humanist"-called, because there is no seperation between artificial garden and environment) also enter the scene through the glorification of a theatrical mise-en-scène.

Luckily for us Le Corniche d’Or (Golden Ledge) coastal road, which runs between St.Raphaël and Cannes, with the Roman coastal town of Fréjus on the west, was quieter and breathtaking, the road dipping between rocks, literally "licking" the sea and its deserted beaches. The volcanic scenery with the rocky inlets of Le Trayas made me think of the rough mountaineous solace of Grenouille as depicted in the film Perfume, Story of a Murderer (never mind the film was actually shot in Spain): Can an abundance of stimuli become too much, too exerting on one's own system, so that the only refuge would be a red cove under the cool shade? The feeling of being far removed from everything fills one's soul, nostrils aflare to catch the painfully precious air of solitude. And how can the porphyric lava, much like in the island of Santorini in Greece, can account for such a fertile, yielding soil?

Mandelieu-la-Napoule, termed the mimosa-capital is the beginning of the way to the Massif de Tanneron, where early spring has the slopes covered into a forest of yellow pom-poms. The area, not coincidentally, comprises the largest mimosa forest in Europe. So prevalent is the mimosa in this area that in Pégomas we are informed that there is a Miss Mimosa pageant at the end of January! If one has time, the small resorts of Anthéor, Agay and Boulouris are also worthwhile visits which we reserve for next time. The bigaradiers, full of orange blossoms that are shedding petals like a carnival parade throwing confetti at the gentlest gust of the wind, aromatize the air as we pass, the refreshing, joyous smell a welcoming salutation for weary wanderers. The picturesque village of Tanneron seems like some fairy godmother has magically placed it on top of the hills, hanging there till the end of days, comprised of humble-looking hamlets for the most part.

In late March and April there are also plenty of wisterias, their powdery spicy scent trail perceivable several meters before the eye confirms what the nose knows. The purple grappes hang from the stems like grapes and tempting the birds that catch petals and small branches with their beaks in order to make their nests. Scattered around the perimeter are the so-called "forceries", barns or rather workshops in which nature is coaxed into calculated submission: the yet greenish branches in bud are cut and forced into the mimoseries, long troughs of steaming spring water, whereon the mimosa is thrown to encourage it to open, we're told. There seems no need to speak of coaxing when the mimosa season is almost over, yet the very idea of producing flowers that will end up being sold at the big flower markets of Nice. The preservation of the flowers so they don't wilt in the interim is a work that requires a lot of attention and specialized techniques. One of them, which I was surprised to learn and am sharing with you now, is crushing a baby aspirin in a glass of water and adding it to the water of the flower vases!

To be continued in Part 2

Pics by Elena Vosnaki, Black & White Le Nu Provençal, Gordes (1949) by Willy Ronis

Ormonde Jayne Perfume Portraits

British niche firm Ormonde Jayne is introducing a new service, aimed at providing clients with the tools and techniques to choose their perfect scent: a journey through the aromatic raw materials themselves, thus guiding them into choosing and setting aside ingredients! And the best latest shopping tip? Ormonde Jayne is being introduced to Harrods, for all you UK-based people. But how does the Perfume Portraits service work?

Seated at a beautiful bespoke testing table, trained staff take notes about the client’s likes and dislikes, favourite perfumes and other aromas. The customer is then invited to smell three raw ingredients from seven different families; hesperedic, light floral, intense floral, balsamic, oriental, woody and atmospheric. The scent of each raw ingredient is embedded in a unique black and gold ceramic stone especially created for Ormonde Jayne’s new Perfume Portraits.
At this stage the client is only asked to say if they like the aroma or not, and not to try to relate the scent to a perfume they might wear. Perfume Portraits is simply about letting personal taste be guided by your mind’s limitless scope to decipher the aromas around you.
Concluding the experience, two or three Ormonde Jayne perfumes that may suit by summarizing the favoured oils are recommended. Again, the favoured perfumes are presented on a second collection of black and gold ceramic stones. The client will then choose the perfume they like best. Sometimes this could be two or three perfumes and the chosen perfume is sprayed onto the wrists.
Discussion of their personal Perfume Portrait is possible too and yhis is something they can take home and keep for future reference while an archive is kept for those who want to drop by and need to rejog their memory on what they chose in the past.
Perfume Portraits is available at the flagship store in The Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street and at the new Ormonde Jayne counter in The Perfume Hall on the ground hall of Harrods (click to also watch some videos with founder Linda Pilkington).

You can read an article by Lucia van der Post in the Financial Times supplement How to Spend It following this link.

Paco Rabanne Lady Million: new fragrance

Puig, the Spanish company behind the Paco Rabanne fragrances portfolio, is launching a new fragrance, rumoured to be the feminine equivalent of the commercially successful masculine One Million, mistakenly reported as Swinging Paris (the mistake according to official info from Puig headquarters was due to a press release that mentioned the words, but in another context). The name will be presented in the press on May 25th, when the official launch will happen. Edit to add: The name is officially confirmed as Lady Million.
Fronted by Dree Hemingway, Mariel's daughter (who is in turn Ernest's grand-daughter), it will be aimed at the hip generation embracing modern aesthetics and fashion consciousness. You see, Dree is model du jour in the runway world (having participated in such prestigious shows as Valentino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Gianfranco Ferré) and hasn't been "burned" by overexposure just yet.

Paco Rabanne intends to present their latest feminine fragrance Lady Million, as the female alter ego to their recent masculine release, One Million. The scent was supposed to be available in July 2010 according to one source ~while Puig swears the launch will be in May (see above)~ and they continue: “Humour, gluttony and seduction,” will be characterised in the campaign, which will highlight the allure of the blonde ‘rocker.’ For the label Paco Rabanne, “the audacious Dree Hemingway personifies the glamour of today’s ‘femme fetale.’” No words on "notes" yet, but we will supplement as soon as available (something tells me we're faced with a fruitchouli?) Edit to add: It's a fresh woody floral with notes of citron, raspberry, neroli, orange flower, jasmine, gardenia, patchouli and honey and is composed by Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Beatrice Piquet.
On a related note: Is the girl a little too thin for comfort or is it just cranky ol' me talking? Anyway...

Paco Rabanne is nowadays more fondly remembered for their classics (the lovely, easy-going Calandre and the cool Métal from the 70s as well as the animalistic La Nuit from 1985) rather than their modern offerings (Ultraviolet, XS, XS Black etc). So a major feminine release is in many ways a bet for the brand. Let's see what happens!

pics via models.com & fashionindie.com

Michael Kors to receive Hall of Fame Award from The Fragrance Foundation

The Fragrance Foundation just announced that Michael Kors will be honored with the Hall of Fame Award at the 2010 Fragrance Foundation FiFi® celebration on Thursday June 10th, 2010. The Hall of Fame award is voted on by The Foundation’s Board of Directors and is presented to an individual who has brought extraordinary ingenuity, creativity, dedication and inner resources to bear, not only to their company’s success but to the fragrance industry as a whole. We are hereby reminding you that the recipient of the award for last year was Marc Jacobs, by the way.

“Who exemplifies these criteria better than the brilliant, funny and daring Michael Kors?” observes Rochelle Bloom, President of The Fragrance Foundation. “His extraordinary, sophisticated fashion vision promises a fabulous jet-set lifestyle to women everywhere at every age. His successful wardrobe of fragrances complements the sleek, the polished, the glamorous look he so effortlessly creates season after season. We are honored to present him with the Hall of Fame Award.”

Michael Kors has three successful fragrance franchises. The first, which debuted ten years ago, is his signature fragrances for men and women, “Michael Kors” and “Michael Kors for Men”. The second, “Island Michael Kors”, aims to capture a vacation in a bottle with each new limited-edition fragrance that launches, from Fiji to Capri to Hawaii. His third fragrance franchise, “Very Hollywood Michael Kors” most recently debuted to wide acclaim.
In Michael’s own words: “Fragrance is probably the most intimate thing I will ever create. It’s my fingerprint, so I am deeply honored that The Fragrance Foundation has chosen to recognize me.”

How does Michael link his fashion to his fragrance and what inspires him? “I think about fragrance the same way as fashion; it should be treated as a wardrobe. My signature Michael Kors fragrance is the little black dress, chic and timeless. The Island scents are your crisp white shirts, the feeling of relaxed luxury. Very Hollywood Michael Kors is the gold dress. It’s all about that super glamorous, indulgent moment.”
Michael Kors is recognized as one of the world’s preeminent designers for luxury accessories and sportswear. His namesake company, established in 1981, currently produces a range of products through his Michael Kors Collection, KORS Michael Kors, and MICHAEL Michael Kors labels, including women’s and men’s ready to wear, women’s handbags, small leather goods, shoes, eyewear, watches and fragrance.

Michael’s fragrance philosophy? “The ultimate accessory is a divine fragrance that lifts your spirits and gives you a spritz of glamour.” As Rochelle Bloom succinctly puts it “what more could any girl ask for!”

info via press release

Small Miracles

Fingers are still prickly from the odd thorns of flower picking at Grasse and hair bears the salty air from the boat ride from Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes, overlooking the Lerin islands; the chime of the clock of the hôtel de ville singing the hours is still audible in my mind's ear... It's hard to re-immerse oneself in the routine of the everyday, as one must.



The following posts will tackle a travel memoir of the glorious Grasse trail, the perfect nose training session with perfumery raw materials firms and museums highlight;, cultural notes & musings on the scent traditions & perfume wearing of the French in situ; an in-depth perfumery material post on mimosa; as well as culinary aromatic delights coming from the South of France with lots of fragrant surprises for our readers as always: à très bientôt!

Off for a while...

Same destination as those dapper people and a discovery of the aromatic capital of the south, albeit almost certainly with less glamour. Oh well, c'est la vie!
Have a happy Easter everyone, will be back with surprises for you soon!

Photo of Greek actress Melina Merkouri and her husband French director Jules Dassen from 1960 Festival des Cannes via Lastscan.

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Bouquet No.1: fragrance review & giveaway

What do you get when you cross-polinate a popular feminine theme from the early 90s with the desire to break away from the simplistic fruitiness of the latest Aqua Allegoria fragrances? You get Guerlain's Bouquet Numéro 1!

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Bouquet Numéro 1 was created by Thierry Wasser comprising notes of bergamot, freshly cut green grass, white flowers, delicate fruity notes, peach and jasmine. The fragrance arrives in a newly designed flacon with golden honeycomb, a bulby stopper with seperate cap (former Aqua Allegoria scents had no cap on the incoroporated bulbous sprayer) and a golden label, packed in an outer carton decorated with a pink bee, as you can see from the photographs I took of Bouquet No.1. [click to enlarge]. It really does look luxurious and pretty, doesn't it? Even though I personally preferred the more impressionistic outer cartons of yore.

According to the official blurb pains were taken to link it to the linage of the company: The name itself reflects Guerlain’s fragrance heritage, as it references the compositions of Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain, founder of Guerlain, and his heir Jacques, namely: Bouquet du Roi d’Angleterre, Bouquet du Jardin du Roi, Bouquet de l’Impératrice, Bouquet Napoléon, Bouquet Duchesse, Bouquet de Paris and Bouquet de Faune. Personally I am not so sure the interweaving of quite so much history in what is definitely a modern juice is really helping either group of potential buyers: hard-core traditionalists or hip modernists. It seems poised in between, with a nod to the 90s (read further on) but not much beyond that to justify historical references that far back. It must be terribly difficult to reconcile the two, we've said it before.


Guerlain's Bouquet Numéro 1 reminds me of both a less sugary or dense 90s Trésor and of Estée Lauder's Pure White Linen Pink Coral from last spring minus the powdery aldehydes. Add the intense peachiness of MDCI Pêche Cardinal and you're almost there! (The same aromachemical as the latter ~which I hypothesized is Decanoic acid 5-hydroxy-lactone~ is used in this composition for the peach note). The introduction on a sharpish note of citrus plus green is meant to be refreshing. Almost immediately, the core chord of peach plus rose is palpable; that velvety, tender, very feminine lactonic vibe which was so obiquitous in the early 1990s through the bombastic popularity of ~mostly synthetic anyway~ Trésor and the products that followed in its zaftig steps. Today, when that theme has been exhausted in commercialised deodorants, body creams, even fabric softeners, it seems a little passé. Enter the bolstering of the peachiness in Bouquet Numéro 1 to render a contemporary fruity note plus ever popular white flowers deprived of their more conniving Gloria Swanson proclivities or animalistic meowing in heat.


They mention that "Guerlain in-house Perfumer Thierry Wasser has chosen to lighten the generous accents of jasmine and rose in the heart of the fragrance. Jasmine offers its light petals, and their lingering scent. Mirroring this emblematic ingredient, rose blend magnifies the heart. At the very core of the fragrance, rose epitomizes femininity. Guerlain uses the rarest essential oils of 'May rose' with a hint of honey for sensuality and 'Damask rose' for fresher and more spicy smell. These two emblematic ingredients optimize the signature of Guerlain's Bouquet n°1." Even though jasmine is touted as a core ingredient, there are no decaying indoles, or nighttime lushness; what I perceive is more of an abstract orange blossom plus a wink of honeyed lilac pollen which gives a little of an effet lessivière, polished though, while the rose, yes, it's discernible all right. The bouquet is therefore a fantasy one, much like the gardenia in the lovely Cruel Gardénia is a the idea of a flower on the drawing board seen through a camera lucida: what you see is assuredly not what you smell. Not that it matters of course! This concept of transparency and abstraction has been utilised also in their other Aqua Allegoria launch this spring, the more mainstream Flora Sudséa Nymphéa. It leaves me wondering how a perfumer of the Transparency School, like Bertrand Duchaufour or Jean Claude Ellena, would go about this kind of concept, yet I fully understand that Guerlain cannot deviate from the curvaceous path they have paved on for centuries.

The scent remains through its base notes a trail of sweet juicy peach and white musks, clean throughout. A gentle fragrance cloud rounded up at last with a delicate hint of almond aroma. The formula is more tenacious on clothes than on my skin where it retains the squeaky clean floralcy better and longer and I can report it doesn't stain. Certainly not "me" in any "cushions of white flowers thrown in a mad sexy war between lovers", but I'm at least happy it signals a deviation from the route of the last few (catastrophic in my humble opinion) Aqua Allegorias.

Aqua Allegoria Bouquet Numéro 1 is Guerlain's first global travel retail exclusive fragrance and available in 75ml of Eau de Toilette.

A sample of Guerlain Bouquet No.1 will be handed out to a lucky reader, randomly picked from the comments. Draw is now closed, thanks!

The bottle was purchased by me. All Guerlain photos taken & copyrighted by Elena Vosnaki.

Guerlain Cologne du Parfumeur: new fragrance

News for Guerlain lovers and haters alike: A new Eau de Cologne in the classic mould but with a modern twist is being introduced in May 2010. Osmoz reports that "Guerlain and Cologne go way back. Each of the house’s perfumers has invented his own. Following in the footsteps of L’Eau de Cologne du Coq (1894), L’Eau de Cologne Imperiale (1853) and L’Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat (1920), in 2010, Thierry Wasser presents ‘La Cologne du Parfumeur’ [sic] a creation that Thierry admits having originally thought of for himself. The key note is a lovely Calabrian orange blossom intertwined with other citrus fruit. Yet this fairly classic cologne also has a ‘modern twist’ thanks to green, musky and sweet facets. The designer also acknowledges that it can be worn alone or layered with your usual scent. For the occasion, Guerlain’s various Colognes have all been graced with a new label on which you’ll find their date of creation and the name of the perfumer who designed them. Look out for La Cologne du Parfumeur from May 2010" .

Perfumer Thierry Wasser is reported to be a great lover of "green" (in olfactory terms) and to have been selfishly enjoying this new cologne which he composed simultaneously with Idylle in his downtime. The really interesting part is that the launch of the new cologne coincides with a revival of a very old tradition dating back from the conception of the Eau de Cologne (Read more on the history and composition of Eau de Cologne on this article). When Eaux de Cologne were considered a panacea for all ailments, people had been known to actually drink them by the gallon! Naturally in those days the alcohol was indeed drinkable, not perfumer's alcohol like today. But this old ritual possibly inspired Guerlain to introduce the new cologne with an accompanying cocktail drink that will be served to all customers at the boutique 68, Champs Elysees and which will include similar aromata as the fragrance itself, namely notes of lemon water, orange blossom, orange juice, lavender syrup, mint and rosemary! Sounds rather good.

Another interesting aspect is that the bottles of all the Guerlain Eaux de Cologne are revamped for the occasion: Each Eau flacon from now on will bear the name of its "author": Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain, Aimé Guerlain, Jacques Guerlain and Jean-Paul Guerlain (for the lovely Eau de Guerlain from 1974). To that illustrious line-up Thierry Wasser is now adding his name too, F.Malle-style. A propos, please note that the recent Cologne du 68 (2006) by Sophia Labbe isn't included in this "classics" line-up, probably because despite the name it aims at providing a different, less traditional concept. Hence its exclusion.

A turn such as this regarding the positioning of the Cologne du Parfumeur leaves us musing about both Guerlain's and LVMH's (who own them) motivation into tapping into such a revered legacy, as well as Thierry Wasser's uphill battle to position himself firmly at the helm of the historic house as head perfumer. In my opinion, this move both attests the desire to make this position plainly obvious on behalf of the management and the motivation to let Thierry create fragrances that may appeal to both the classics clientele and the younger/more modern crowd who prefer a lighter scent. Clearly the well-familiar Eau de Cologne recipe is a prime target for reconciling both: who really hates it, I ask you?

The practice of hereby chronicling the heritage of the house by naming each successive perfumer on the eaux bottles themselves also indicates that the more cynical amidst the perfumeland ~who have been bemoaning the LVMH takeover as the cultural ruin of Guerlain for long~ are being heard. Possibly (but not conclusively) this is also a move to assuage the negativity of the Guerlain detractors being vocal on the Net. Whatever it is, it is a move that is bound to be discussed and dissected. We did our part and will return in due time.

Edit to add: Full review on this link.

pic via osmoz